Saturday, September 6, 2008

Gaming to be Included in Olympics

Shortly after a group of British gamers were named the best in the world at their “sport”, they have called for it to be included as an official olympic event.

Teams from around the world have competed in the Championship Gaming Series (CGS), with a British team taking the prize of half a million dollars. The team, Birmingham Salvo, led by Michael O’Dell (no, not Michael Dell), competed against 18 other teams in the LA final, and beat San Fransisco, naming them the best gamers on the planet.

The team played a number of games from Fifa 08 to Counter Strike, and came up on top. O’Dell said: “I think there are tests going on at the moment about making gaming an Olympic sport. I would like to think that it will happen and maybe sooner rather than later.”

As much as I believe that a lot of effort is put into gaming, along with hard work, sweat and tears, I don’t think that it is deserving of being an official Olympic sport. The olympics is about passion of sport, health, fitness and pushing yourself beyond the boundries. As much passion as a gamer may have for his trade, fitness, health and ultimate traning. In my opinion, sitting on a console incorporates passion, but not fitness.

What do you think? Should gaming be an offical Olympic sport or not? Could we see gaming by the 2012 Olympics, or does it just not make the grade? What do you think of the Birmingham Salvo? Are the a deserving group? Leave a comment with your thoughts.

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